Clamp-on grab rail for bathtubs or the like



Dec. 10, 1968 ov ETAL 3,414,910

CLAMP-ON GRAB RAIL FOR BATHTUBS OR THE LIKE Filed Sept. 15, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I N VENTORS M366 A Pro V/ \9. Robe/*2, Gui/9 zfe Quak 3 Dec. 10, 1968 PRQVII ET AL 3,414,910

CLAMP-ON GRAB RAIL FOR BATHTUBS OR THE LIKE Filed Sept. 15, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VENTORS M/kc A. Pro 10' 5. P bcrt Gu/nz'zer United States Patent 3,414,910 CLAMP-0N GRAB RAIL FOR BATHTUBS OR THE LIKE Mike A. Provi and S. Robert Guinter, Rockford, Ill.,

assignors to The Brearley Company, Rockford, 111., a

corporation of Illinois Filed Sept. 15, 1966, Ser. No. 579,622 11 Claims. (Cl. 4--185) This invention relates to a clamp-on grab rail adapted to be applied to the upper edge portion of a bathtub wall and includes a horizontal rail or handle to be grasped by a user to avoid slipping while stepping into or out of the bathtub.

One object of the invention is to provide a novel construction of a safety device of the above character having few parts which are of inexpensive construction, which may be attached to bathtub walls quickly and easily, and which are readily assembled without special tools.

Another object is to support the hand rail in parallel relation above the bathtub wall by two brackets which cooperate with the rail in a novel manner to hold the parts assembled while permitting their adjustment to accommodate bathtub walls of different dimensions.

A more detailed object is to form each bracket using a pair of levers which, at their upper ends, bear in and are fulcrumed at the end portions of the hand rail and, at their lower ends, are drawn into clamping engagement with the bathtub wall by a tension connection spanning intermediate portions of the levers.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a bathtub equipped with a safety device embodying the novel features of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the safety device;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view of the device;

FIGURE 4 is an end elevational view showing the device mounted on a bathtub wall;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of FIGURE 3.

In the drawings, the invention is shown for purposes of illustration embodied in a safety device comprising a handle or hand rail 10 and two brackets 11 adapted to be clamped against opposite sides of a vertical wall 12 of a bathtub and support the handle in a horizontal position parallel to and spaced above the upper edge portion of the wall. Clamping feet 13 on lower portions of the brackets are clamped against the sides of the wall and are adjustable toward each other to vary the clamping pressure and accommodate walls of different dimensions.

The present invention contemplates a novel construction of the handle 10 and brackets 11 contributing to their low cost of manufacture and ease of assembly and attachment to the bathtub wall 12. To these ends, the brackets are identical and each is made up of two levers 14 each carrying one of the clamping feet at its lower end and extending upwardly therefrom to a bearing portion 15 at its upper end where the lever has bearing engagement with one end of the handle and is fulcrumed for swinging of its clamping foot toward and away from the clamping foot of the other lever of the bracket. Intermediate their ends, the levers of each bracket are joined by a tension connection 16 including tightening rneans 17 which is adjustable to draw the clamping feet together about the lever fulcrums 18 (FIGURE 6) and into clamping engagement with opposite sides of the bathtub wall. It will be seen that, with the tension means joining intermediate portions 19 of the levers, each bracket is of A-shape and the levers are joined to the handle at the apex of the A.

To simplify the construction, the end portions of the handle 10 are of hollow cylindrical shape and telescope closely over the lever bearing portions 15 which project laterally of the levers 14 and are formed with exterior bearing surfaces 20 of cylindrical contour. This surface on each lever is coaxial with the corresponding surfaces of the other lever and extends about the common axis less than degrees. Extending between the ends of the exterior bearing surface on each lever and the axis are flat faces 21 (FIGURE 6) which intersect each other near the axis to form the lever fulcrum 18 in engagement with the corresponding fulcrum of the other lever of the same bracket, the faces of one lever being opposed to but spaced from the faces of the other lever to provide clearance for relative swinging of the levers about their fulcrums.

The handle 10 in this instance preferably is simply a section of cylindrical tubing as permitted by the cylindrical contour of the bearing surfaces 20. Entry of the hear ing portions 15 into the ends of the handle is limited by shoulders 22 projecting radially from the surfaces and abutting the handle ends. Although the parts will remain assembled in this relation after the levers are clamped to the bathtub wall 12, a more positive locking of the handle and bearing portions may be achieved by wedging the bearing portions apart and outwardly against the interior of the handle ends. For this purpose, at each end of the handle, a screw 23 is threaded radially into an aperture in the handle and a conical surface 24 on its inner end engages the opposed surfaces 21 of the adjacent bearing portions to wedge the surfaces apart.

In this instance, the upper end portions of the levers 14 of each bracket converge upwardly toward each other from the inner ends of the intermediate. portions 19 which extend transversely of the levers and are generally in horizontal alinement with each other. The tension means 16 comprises a hollow bar 25 having nuts 26 secured in its ends and threadably receiving bolts which constitute the tightening means 17. To provide a pleasing appearance and prevent turning of the bar relative to the levers, the bar is of rectangular cross section and its ends extend into recesses 27 formed in and opening downwardly from the intermediate portions and having parallel side walls spaced apart a distance only slightly greater than the width of the tension bar. The bolts are threaded into the nuts after being extended through apertures which open into the recesses through the intermediate portions. The enlarged heads of the bolts are spherical and fit into seats of complementary shape around the apertures on the outer sides of the levers to permit relative angular shifting of the bolts with respect to the levers, the heads being slots to receive a screw driver, the only tool used in assembling the device.

The lower end portions 28 of the levers 14 of each bracket 11 depend vertically from the outer ends of the intermediate portions and, adjacent their lower ends, are formed with inwardly opening horizontal recesses 29 to receive the clamping feet 13. The latter, in this instance are simply elongated strips of a suitable yieldable friction material which are cemented in the recesses and are compressed between the levers and the bathtub wall when the clamping force is applied.

The improved safety device may be shipped conveni ently in a small space with all of the parts disassembled. To attach the device to a bathtub, the brackets 11 are assembled first by inserting the tension bars 25 in their recesses 27 and, after extending the bolts 17 through their apertures, turning the bolts into the nuts 26 to draw the levers 14 of each bracket toward each other. During this movement, the levers of each bracket are retained in proper relation to each by the torsion bar engaging the walls of the recesses. After the brackets are assembled, the bolts are turned so that with the fulcrums 18 of the levers of each bracket in engagement, the spacing of the clamping feet is slightly greater than the spacing of the outer sides of the bathtub wall 12, and the wedging screws 23 retracted, the bearing port-ions of the brackets are inserted in the hollow ends of the handle 10. Then, the brackets are placed on the wall and the bolts are turned to bring the clamping feet into engagement with the sides of the wall under the desired pressure. Finally the wedging screws are turned in to secure the handle to the bearing portions of the lever.

It will be apparent that the improved safety device requires few parts of simple and inexpensive construction. They are easy to assemble both to each other and on the bathtub wall with few manipulations. Yet, the device is sturdy and capable of remaining in place even when substantial forces are applied to the handle. While a preferred embodiment has been shown in the drawings and described herein, it is not intended to limit the invention by such disclosure but, rather, it is intended to cover all modifications and alternative constructions coming within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A safety device adapted to be secured to the upper edge portion of a vertical wall of a bathtub, said device having, in combination, a pair of generally A-shaped brackets each having lower foot portions adapted to straddle said wall and having opposed clamping surfaces engageable with opposite sides of the wall, upwardly extending side members converging toward each other from the foot portions and into abutting engagement of their upper ends at the apex of the A, a separately formed tension bar forming the cross-bar of the A and extending transversely of said side members at intermediate portions thereof between said foot portions and said apex, and tension members acting between said side members and said tension bar and cooperating with the bar to pull said foot portions toward each other when said upper end portions are in abutting engagement, said upper end portions of said side members extending laterally from the side members and toward the other of said brackets and having exterior bearing surfaces, and a hand rail extending between said brackets and having hollow end portions receiving said end portions of said brackets and telescoping closely over said bearing surfaces to retain the bracket end portions assembled in abutting relation at said apex while permitting relative turning of the side members about the end portions.

2. The safety device of claim 1 in which said exterior bearing surfaces of said end portions of each of said brackets lie on a cylinder coaxial with the cylinder of the bearing surfaces of the other bracket and said hollow end portions of said hand rail are of complementary internal shape.

3. A bathtub safety device having, in combination, an elongated handle and two supporting brackets adapted to be clamped to a vertical side wall of a bathtub in upright positions and to support the handle in a horizontal position parallel to and spaced above the upper edge of the side wall, each of said brackets having two elongated levers each carrying a clamping jaw at one end engageable with the bathtub wall, each of said levers extending upwardly from its clamping jaw and having a bearing at its other end extending into bearing engagement with one end portion of said handle for swinging of the clamping jaws of the two levers toward and away from each other about fulcrums at their upper end portions, and a tension connection extending between portions of said levers of each of said brackets intermediate the ends of the levers and including tightening means for drawing the clamping jaws toward each other about said fulcrums and into clamping engagement with opposite sides of the bathtub wall.

4. The safety device of claim 3 in which the ends of said handle are hollow and said bearing of each of said levers of each of said brackets extends into one of the handle ends and abuts the bearing of the other lever of the bracket within the end to form the fulcrums for swinging of the levers.

5. The safety device of claim 4 in which the interior surfaces of said handle ends are cylindrical and each of said bearings is formed with an exterior surface of cylindrical contour complementary to and axially alined with said interior cylindrical surface of the associated one of said handle ends and extending less than degrees about said axis, said bearings of said levers of each of said brackets also having opposed surfaces engaging each other adjacent said axis to form said fulcrums and spaced from each other adjacent the exterior surfaces of the bearings to provide clearance for swinging of the levers about the fulcrums.

6. The safety device of claim 3 in which locking means is provided at at least one end of said handle for securing that end and the bearings at that end rigidly together.

7. The safety device of claim 5 in which a wedge member extends radially through at least one end of said handle and in between said opposed surfaces of said bearings within the handle end and is threaded into the handle to wedge the surfaces apart and said exterior surfaces of the bearings into locking engagement with said interior surface of the handle end when the member is turned relative to the handle.

8. The safety device of claim 3 in which, in each of said brackets, said intermediate portions of said levers are formed with recesses opening toward said clamping jaws and away from said upper end portions of the levers, apertures open into said recesses from the outer sides of the intermediate portions of the levers, said tension connection including a tension bar spanning said levers with its ends in said recesses, and said tightening means comprises bolts extending through said apertures and threaded into said ends of said tension bar.

9. A clamp-on handle or grab bar for detachable connection with the device to which it is adapted to be attached, comprising two spaced substantially vertical generally A-shaped brackets, each having jaws on the lower ends of the legs of the A, adapted to embrace and clamp therebetween a portion of the device, the legs of the A being fulcrumed with respect to one another at their converging upper ends, the cross-bar portion of the A being defined by threaded coupling means connecting the two legs of the A intermediate their ends and serving to draw the legs of the A together and the clamping jaws with them so as to clamp onto the device, and an elongated substant-ially horizontal handle or grab bar supported on and interconnecting the upper ends of said A shaped brackets.

10. The structure as set forth in claim 9, in which the ends of said handle or grab bar are hollow, and there is provided on each of said A-shaped brackets at the upper end of the arms of the A an inwardly projecting substantially horizontal bearing portion extending into the hollow end of the handle or grab bar, whereby to permit fulcruming of said legs relative to said handle or grab bar.

11. The structure as set forth in claim 10 including locking means provided on the ends of said handle for securing the same to the bearings in rigid relationship to one another.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,931,051 4/1960 Sparling 4-185 LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner.

H. J. GROSS, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

1. A SAFETY DEVICE ADAPTED TO BE SECURED TO THE UPPER EDGE PORTION OF A VERTICAL WALL OF A BATHTUB, SAID DEVICE HAVING, IN COMBINATION, A PAIR OF GENERALLY A-SHAPED BRACKETS EACH HAVING LOWER FOOT PORTIONS ADAPTED TO STRADDLE SAID WALL AND HAVING OPPOSED CLAMPING SURFACES ENGAGEABLE WITH OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE WALL, UPWARDLY EXTENDING SIDE MEMBERS CONVERGING TOWARD EACH OTHER FROM THE FOOT PORTIONS AND INTO ABUTTING ENGAGEMENT OF THEIR UPPER ENDS AT THE APEX OF THE A, A SEPARATELY FORMED TENSION BAR FORMING THE CROSS-BAR OF THE A AND EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF SAID SIDE MEMBERS AT INTERMEDIATE PORTIONS THEREOF BETWEEN SAID FOOT PORTIONS AND SAID APEX, AND TENSION MEMBERS ACTING BETWEEN SAID SIDE MEMBERS AND SAID TENSION BAR AND COOPERATING WITH THE BAR TO PULL SAID FOOT PORTIONS TOWARD EACH OTHER WHEN SAID UPPER END PORTIONS ARE IN ABUTTING ENGAGEMENT, SAID UPPER END PORTIONS OF SAID SIDE MEMBERS EXTENDING LATERALLY FROM THE SIDE MEMBERS AND TOWARD THE OTHER OF SAID BRACKETS AND HAVING EXTERIOR BEARING SURFACES, AND A HAND RAIL EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID BRACKETS AND HAVING HOLLOW END PORTIONS RECEIVING SAID END PORTIONS OF SAID BRACKETS AND TELESCOPING CLOSELY OVER SAID BEARING SURFACES TO RETAIN THE BRACKET END PORTIONS ASSEMBLED IN ABUTTING RELATION AT SAID APEX WHILE PERMITTING RELATIVE TURNING OF THE SIDE MEMBERS ABOUT THE END PORTIONS. 